Internal Linking for SEO: What It Is and How to Do It Properly

Internal linking for SEO means connecting pages on your website in a way that helps visitors find useful information and helps search engines understand how your content fits together. A clear internal link structure can make important products, services and articles easier to discover, while guiding potential customers towards the next useful step.

It is also one of the most practical parts of search engine optimisation. You control where the links appear, which pages they point to and the words people click. You control where the links appear, which pages they point to and the words people click. In this guide, we explain how internal links work, why they matter and how to build a useful internal linking strategy without filling every paragraph with links.

A clear internal linking structure connects important commercial pages with useful supporting content.

Key takeaways

• An internal link takes a visitor from one page to another on the same website.
• Internal links help people navigate your site and help search engines discover and understand your pages.
• Important pages should receive relevant links from other discoverable pages on your website.
• There is no perfect number of internal links. Each link should have a clear purpose and help the reader.

What are internal links?

Internal links are hyperlinks that connect pages on the same website. For example, a blog post might link to a related service page, while that service page might link to a useful guide or case study. These links create routes that both visitors and search engines can follow.

This is a contextual internal link:

If you need help planning or reviewing your website structure, explore our SEO services.

Behind the visible text, a standard HTML link looks like this:

<a href="https://example.co.uk/services/seo/">SEO services</a>

Descriptive anchor text tells visitors and search engines what to expect from the linked page.

The words “SEO services” are the anchor text: the clickable wording that tells the reader what to expect from the destination page.

You may also hear people refer to incoming and outgoing internal links. An incoming internal link points to the page you are viewing from another page on the same site. An outgoing internal link takes you from the current page to another internal page. Looking at both helps you understand how well connected a page is.

Internal links vs external links and backlinks

Internal links connect pages on the same website. They differ from external links and backlinks, which connect pages across separate websites.

The main distinction: you control the internal links on your website, while backlinks are created on other websites. Learn more about what backlinks are and why they matter for SEO.

Internal links connect your own pages, external links point to other websites, and backlinks come from other websites to yours.

Internal linking and link building are therefore not the same. Internal links organise and connect your own pages. Backlink building focuses on earning links from other websites, often through useful resources, digital PR and a wider content marketing strategy. Both can support SEO, but they require different approaches.

Why are internal links important for SEO?

Internal links help search engines find pages, understand the subject of those pages and recognise how different parts of a website relate to one another. They also help visitors reach relevant information or take the next step towards an enquiry or purchase.

Internal links create useful routes for visitors while helping search engines discover and understand related pages.

They help search engines discover pages

Search engines such as Google discover content by following links. If a new page is included in your XML sitemap but has no links from the rest of your website, a search engine may still find it. However, the page is disconnected from the normal journey through your site and receives no context from related pages.

A page with no incoming internal links is often called an orphan page. Important pages should not be left orphaned. Google recommends linking every page you care about from at least one other page that it can find.

They explain relationships and context

Imagine a website with a main SEO service page and separate guides covering keyword research, technical SEO, local SEO and content. Linking between those resources makes their relationship clearer.

The supporting articles can help readers understand individual subjects, while linking back to the main service page when professional help is relevant. This is often described as a topic cluster: a central page supported by closely related content.

Internal link anchor text also supplies context. A link labelled “technical SEO audit” communicates more than a vague link such as “read more”. The surrounding sentence matters too, so the link should sit naturally within genuinely relevant copy.

They indicate which pages matter most

Website navigation, breadcrumbs and contextual links all help establish a hierarchy. A page linked prominently from the main menu will usually appear more important than one hidden several levels deep. Contextual links from relevant pages can reinforce which product, service or guide is central to a topic.

Internal links also allow PageRank – part of Google’s system for understanding links and the relative importance of pages – to flow through a website. A useful link from an established page can support a newer or less visible page, although adding a link does not guarantee higher rankings.

They improve the customer journey

Good internal links answer the natural question: “Where might this visitor need to go next?”

Someone reading about planning a new website might benefit from information about professional web design. A reader researching blog strategy might need help with content writing and copywriting. The link is useful because it matches the reader’s likely next need, not simply because the destination is commercially important.

What are the main types of internal links?

Internal links can appear in several parts of a website. Each type has a different role.

Main navigation links

The main menu gives visitors access to your most important sections, such as products, services, sectors or resources. It also helps communicate the broad hierarchy of the website. Avoid making the menu so crowded that people cannot identify the most useful options.

Breadcrumbs

Breadcrumbs show a page’s position within the wider website. An ecommerce breadcrumb might read Home > Garden Furniture > Outdoor Tables. This helps visitors move back to a broader category and reinforces the relationship between the pages.

Contextual links

Contextual links appear within the main copy. Because the surrounding text explains why the destination is relevant, these links can be particularly useful to visitors and search engines. A guide about improving online visibility could link to a detailed explanation of SEO at the point where the subject is introduced.

Footer links

Footers normally contain links that need to be accessible throughout the site, including contact details, policies and key company information. They can also include selected services, but the footer should not become a long list of keywords and destinations added solely for SEO.

Sidebar and related-content links

Related-article modules and sidebars can help visitors discover more content. These links work best when the recommendations are genuinely related rather than simply showing the newest posts across unrelated subjects.

Image and CTA links

Images, buttons and calls to action can also link to internal pages. Linked images should have appropriate alternative text, while buttons should clearly describe the action, such as “Request an SEO audit” rather than a generic “Submit”.

How to create an internal linking strategy

An effective internal linking strategy connects your commercial priorities with what visitors genuinely need. The following process works for service businesses, ecommerce websites and content-led sites.

1. Identify your most important pages

Start with the pages that support the main purpose of the website. These may include:

• Core service pages
• Product and category pages
• Important location pages
• Lead-generation or contact pages
• Detailed guides that act as central resources

This does not mean linking to all of them from every page. It gives you a priority list for deciding where relevant links should lead.

2. Group related pages into topics

Create a simple list of the pages associated with each product, service or subject. A service business might place its main SEO page at the centre of a group containing guides about technical SEO, keyword research, local visibility and content.

An online furniture retailer might connect an outdoor-furniture category with product pages, material guides, measuring advice and seasonal maintenance articles. The precise structure differs, but the principle remains the same: related pages should not sit in isolation.

A topic cluster connects a main commercial page with supporting content that explores related subjects in more detail.

3. Choose a main page for each search need

If several pages target the same keyword and satisfy the same intent, they can compete or create confusion about which page is most relevant. Choose one primary page for each valuable topic, then give supporting pages narrower and clearly differentiated purposes.

For example, a broad ecommerce SEO service page can own the commercial topic, while a guide called “How to Write Ecommerce Category Copy” answers a specific informational question. The guide can link back to the service page without duplicating it.

4. Find relevant supporting pages

Search your existing website for pages that discuss the target subject. You can use a website crawler, your content inventory or a Google search such as:

site:example.co.uk "internal linking"

Look for established pages with relevant copy where a link would improve the reader’s understanding. Pages that already attract links or organic visits may be especially useful, but relevance should come before metrics alone.

5. Link in both useful directions

A supporting guide should normally link to its main topic or service page. The main page can also link out to the best supporting resources when they help a potential customer make a decision.

This creates a meaningful network instead of a one-way route where every article points to a service page but none of the resources are discoverable from that service section.

6. Support newly published content

Publishing a new article does not automatically connect it to the rest of the site. Add relevant links to the new page from existing content, rather than waiting for it to be discovered through the blog archive alone.

At the same time, add links from the new article to useful existing pages. This should become part of the publishing checklist rather than an occasional SEO tidy-up.

7. Measure and improve

Monitor important pages in Google Search Console and your analytics platform. Look at organic visibility alongside meaningful actions such as enquiries, calls, purchases or downloads. If a page remains difficult to find or receives little engagement, review its purpose, quality and position in the site structure instead of assuming that adding more links will solve everything.

How should you choose internal link anchor text?

Internal link anchor text should briefly and accurately describe the destination page. It should make sense in the sentence, set the right expectation for the reader and avoid forced repetition of the same keyword.

Useful anchor text describes the destination naturally instead of relying on vague wording or keyword stuffing.

For example:

• Poor: To learn more about SEO, click here.
• Better: Learn how our SEO services can improve the visibility of your website.
• Poor: Read our SEO agency SEO company search engine SEO services page.
• Better: Explore our search engine optimisation services.

Google advises website owners to write anchor text that is descriptive, reasonably concise and relevant to both the current page and the linked page. It also recommends using natural language rather than trying to cram keywords into links. You can read the full guidance in Google’s link best practices.

Exact-match anchor text is not automatically a problem for an internal link when it accurately describes the destination. However, repeating the same phrase mechanically across an entire website is rarely helpful. Natural variations can describe the page clearly without making the copy awkward.

How many internal links should a page have?

There is no ideal number of internal links for every page. The right number depends on the page’s length, subject and purpose. A short service page may only need a few relevant links, while a detailed guide or large category page may reasonably contain more.

Google does not specify a magical link count. A better test is to ask whether each link helps someone understand the subject, reach a relevant page or complete a useful action. If a paragraph becomes difficult to read because almost every sentence contains a link, some of those links probably need to go.

Common internal linking mistakes

Leaving important pages orphaned

An orphan page has no incoming links from other pages on the website. Add a link from at least one relevant, discoverable page, or reconsider whether the orphaned page still deserves to exist.

Internal links connect related pages and help visitors and search engines navigate a website.

Linking to broken URLs

A broken internal link sends visitors and search engines to a missing page, often returning a 404 status. Update it to the correct live destination, remove it if it is no longer useful, or introduce a suitable redirect when a genuine replacement exists. Regular website support and maintenance can help identify and correct these issues before they disrupt important customer journeys.

Linking through redirects

If an old address redirects to a new page, update internal links to point directly to the final URL. This removes an unnecessary step for visitors and crawlers. Also check for redirect chains, where one old address leads through several others before reaching the destination.

Burying important pages too deeply

Pages that take many clicks to reach can be difficult for visitors to find and may appear less important within the website hierarchy. Keeping important content within a few logical steps of the homepage is a useful rule of thumb, not a universal rule that every page must meet.

Using vague or misleading anchor text

Wording such as “click here” gives little indication of what comes next. Anchor text should describe the destination accurately. Never use an appealing phrase that leads to an unrelated commercial page.

Adding too many irrelevant links

More is not automatically better. Large numbers of unrelated links distract readers and weaken the clarity of the journey. Navigation and footer links serve site-wide purposes, while contextual links should be selected for the page in question.

Sending everything to the homepage

The homepage is important, but it is rarely the most useful destination for a specific question. Link directly to the relevant service, product, category, guide or contact route when that page better meets the reader’s need.

Linking to unsuitable destinations

Check whether linked pages are live, indexable and intended to appear in search. Avoid sending users to blocked areas, duplicate URLs or pages that have been replaced by another canonical version.

Using links that crawlers cannot reliably follow

Google can generally crawl links implemented as HTML <a> elements with an href attribute. Buttons or scripted elements that only behave like links may not provide the same reliable route. Make sure important navigation and contextual links are present in crawlable HTML and work for keyboard and screen-reader users too. Our guide to what web development involves explains more about the technical work behind a functional website.

How to audit internal links on your website

An internal linking audit shows how pages are currently connected and where the most important gaps lie.

A structured audit can uncover broken links, redirects, orphan pages and missed opportunities to connect important content.

1. Crawl the website. Use a crawler such as Screaming Frog, Ahrefs or Semrush to collect live URLs and link relationships.
2. Check the crawl settings. Confirm the starting URL, crawl scope, rendering mode, canonicals and robots directives before relying on the results.
3. Find broken and redirected links. Replace broken destinations and update links that still point to old redirected URLs.
4. Identify orphaned and underlinked pages. Compare crawl data with the XML sitemap, Google Search Console and other page inventories. A normal link crawl cannot find a truly orphaned page on its own.
5. Review crawl depth. Check whether key services, categories and products are hidden several levels below the homepage.
6. Examine important pages. Review how many relevant pages link to them, where those links appear and what anchor text they use. Link counts alone do not show quality.
7. Find new opportunities. Search existing copy for related topics and add links where the destination genuinely expands the reader’s journey.
8. Make changes by priority. Start with revenue-driving or lead-generating pages, important content with few links, and technical errors affecting many URLs.
9. Recrawl the site. Confirm that the links point directly to live, intended destinations and that new routes are crawlable.
10. Monitor the outcome. Use Google Search Console and analytics data to assess discovery, organic performance and valuable user actions over time. If visibility changes suddenly, our guide to recovering from a Google algorithm update explains what to investigate before making rushed changes.

For a larger website, the audit can become complicated quickly. Talk To Media’s SEO team can review the structure, identify missed opportunities and prioritise changes around the pages that matter commercially.

When should internal links be reviewed?

Internal linking should be part of normal website maintenance rather than a one-off task. Review it when you:

• Publish a new product, service, location page or article
• Refresh older content
• Remove, rename or redirect a URL
• Change your product or service offering
• Redesign or migrate the website as part of a wider web design project
• Consolidate overlapping pages
• Investigate an important page that is difficult to find or underperforming

A full audit may only be needed periodically, but checking links whenever content changes prevents small issues from developing into a disconnected website. Technical performance should be reviewed at the same time; our guide to Google Core Web Vitals explains the loading, responsiveness and visual-stability measures that affect the wider user experience.

Build useful connections, not links for the sake of links

Good internal linking makes a website easier to explore. It helps visitors move from a question to a useful answer, product or service, while giving search engines clearer routes and context.

Start with the pages that matter most, connect them to genuinely relevant supporting content and use anchor text that tells people where they are going. Then review the structure as your website grows. The objective is not to add the largest possible number of links; it is to build useful connections.

If you would like help auditing your internal links or planning a wider SEO strategy, contact Talk To Media. We can identify technical problems, strengthen connections between relevant pages and focus the work on visibility that has the potential to generate worthwhile enquiries.

Frequently asked questions

What is an internal link in SEO?

An internal link connects one page to another page on the same website. It helps visitors navigate between relevant information and helps search engines discover pages, understand their context and interpret the structure of the site.

Do internal links help SEO?

Yes, internal links can support SEO by making pages easier to discover, communicating relationships between topics and allowing PageRank to flow through the site. They also help visitors reach relevant content and commercial pages. Adding links alone does not guarantee improved rankings; the pages and links must both be useful and relevant.

How many internal links should a page have?

There is no universal ideal number. A page should contain as many internal links as are genuinely useful for its subject and audience. Detailed guides naturally need more links than short pages. Avoid adding links solely to reach a target count or inserting so many that the content becomes difficult to read.

What anchor text should internal links use?

Use concise, descriptive wording that accurately reflects the destination page. “Ecommerce SEO services” gives readers more useful information than “click here”. Write naturally, use sensible variations and avoid cramming several keywords into the same anchor text.

What is an orphan page?

An orphan page is a page with no incoming internal links from other pages on the website. It is disconnected from the site’s normal navigation paths and receives no internal link context. Important orphan pages should be linked from relevant, discoverable pages.

Should internal links use nofollow?

Normal internal links should generally remain followable. Adding nofollow does not reliably prevent a page from being discovered or indexed, so it should not be used as an index-control method. Use appropriate access controls or a noindex directive when a page genuinely needs to stay out of search results.

How can you find internal linking opportunities?

Crawl your website, review pages with few incoming links and search existing content for mentions of the target subject. You can also use Google Search Console, SEO platforms or a site: search to find related pages. Add a link only where it gives the reader a useful next step.